SPD: 2010 Saw a 13% Drop in Violent Crime

  The Shreveport Police Department today announced that overall crime numbers continued to drop in 2010. The Violent Crime Index was down 13 percent and the Property Crime Index was down 9 percent.

   The 30 homicides reported in 2010, was a 17 percent decrease from the 36 homicides reported in 2009. Robbery numbers plummeted 27 percent when compared with last year, and burglaries dropped 4 percent from the 2009 totals.

    Aggravated assaults and batteries were down 9% when compared with last year’s numbers, and thefts were down 10 percent, and auto thefts were down 18 percent.

    With the exception of forceable rape, which remained the same, every major category of crime saw decreases in 2010.

     Two thousand ten was a busy year for the Shreveport Police Department. Newly appointed Chief of Police Willie Shaw took the helm in July and lost no time in implementing Operation I.M.P.A.C.T. (Intelligence Led Multi-Pronged Assault on Crime Trends).

    I.M.P.A.C.T. is a community based, proactive, aggressive, inclusive effort utilizing personnel from all divisions of the police department to address emerging crime patterns. Unique, in that it runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Operation I.M.P.A.C.T has been lauded by citizens all over Shreveport.

    Operation R.I.D. (Robbery Intervention Detail), was another new initiative put into place by Shaw,  and the robbery statistics are a testament to just how effective that effort has been.

     Other programs already in place - such as Operation TBONE, and the Community Response Unit - that have been so successful in the past are still an integral component of the department’s crime reduction strategies.

      Shaw praised his department, saying, “I am truly amazed at the courage and dedication of the men and women who make up the Shreveport Police Department and the hard work they do for the citizens of Shreveport is to be commended. I would be remiss, however, if I did not acknowledge that our successes have come as the direct result of partnerships we have forged.     

      “Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover and our City Council have been so supportive of the police department and they are, without a doubt, completely committed to making Shreveport an even safer place to live, work, and play.”

       Shaw added that he’s proud of the SPD’s relationships with other law enforcement agencies as well and the assistance the SPD receives from “the Shreveport City Marshal’s Office, the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office, the Louisiana State Police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshal’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration is invaluable to our department and our city.”

       In addition, Shaw recognized the citizens of Shreveport play a crucial role in crime reduction efforts, saying, “One of the most important partnerships we have is with the people we have sworn to serve and protect. Community policing is a top priority and we will continue to work closely with neighborhood watch groups and other community organizations.”

      He also pointed out that while the decreases in crime are quite impressive, there is still much work to be done. “I understand only too well that in each one of those reported crimes there is a victim that has suffered some kind of loss. I am very concerned about those victims as well as the perception of crime in our city and we will be working very hard to address not only crime, but that perception of crime.”
 

    While the statistics from 2010 continue to show decreases in overall crime indexes, department officials believe the numbers can drop even further. Toward that end, Shaw continues to work closely with his command staff and the community to implement new and innovative initiatives to address crime in our city.

  To view the statistics for 2010, please visit the Shreveport Police Department’s website at http://www.shreveportla.gov/dept/police/CrimeStats/CrimeStats.htm